


Monopolize

by Measured



Category: Fire Emblem: Soen no Kiseki/Akatsuki no Megami | Fire Emblem Path of Radiance/Radiant Dawn
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-02-18
Updated: 2013-02-18
Packaged: 2020-06-30 13:05:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,822
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19853782
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Measured/pseuds/Measured
Summary: Leonardo is popular with the girls. Edward is beginning to realize he doesn't exactly like this. Edward/Leonardo.





	Monopolize

**Author's Note:**

> [](https://fic-promptly.dreamwidth.org/profile)[fic_promptly](https://fic-promptly.dreamwidth.org/): Any, any, HYACINTH (YELLOW) - Jealousy. Leonardo's ending says that he gets popular with the girls. I always wanted to write this one, but Sule taking part in the last meme made me finally get around to doing it. Sorry it's so late, Sule!

It wasn't that Edward sought out the best ways to annoy Leonardo, it was just that they were different. Edward charged into everything, sword drawn, while Leonardo stayed back, warily checking over the situation. Leonardo liked to do stuff like read and Edward preferred to do stuff like hit things or people with swords. It wasn't hard to understand, really. Perfectly simple.

But it'd always been a promise back in the old days, before the Dawn Brigade was even thought of, that Leonardo would teach Edward how to read. As a street kid Edward hadn't exactly picked up more than a little bet to get by. After he met Leonardo, he was the one who did all the reading and exchanging, and Edward never got cheated again.

It wasn't like Leonardo had started a school or anything, it just sort of started. When he was helping the populace with Sothe under Micaiah's command, he found out that the schools were in a dismal state, given that Ashnard had preferred his country dumbed down. It made them far easier to push into the army.

So, he started teaching. Nothing big, but, apparently he was good. With everyone but Edward, that was.

Edward pushed aside his primer.

"Ugh, I can't deal with this, Leo," Edward said. He leaned back in his chair. The sky was blue and bright and just _begging_ him to come out and train. He could just imagine the warm air on his skin, the burn in his muscles as he swung his sword. Reading about adventures wasn't half as fun as going on them himself.

Instead here he was, cooped up and trying to scrawl things like _The cat sat on the hat while looking at the rat_ and doing a horrible job at it. At least when Leonardo was teaching him fancy tactics he learned from the school he'd been at, it'd come naturally to him.

Leonardo frowned at him. "This is the third time this week."

"Well, it's still boring!" Edward said. He gestured towards the ceiling. "And there is a world of stuff I could be getting to outside this room, but you have me cramped up doing stupid stuff!"

"If you're not interested in learning, you might as well stop wasting my time," Leonardo said. His voice was chilly. He picked up Edward's book, and put it on the large desk Micaiah had donated from the castle for Leo.

"Oh, come on, Leo," Edward said.

"I mean it. We do this every single time, and I'm sick of it. If you're okay with being able to not read, then stop coming."

Edward got up and brushed the chalk dust off himself. Leo was glaring at him, his arms crossed about his chest.

"Well, maybe I _will_. I have plenty of better things to do than have you make me feel like an idiot scrawling out about some stupid cat and his stupid rat!"

He reached out for the door and gave it a good slam as he left. He always found that cathartic, the sound, the violence of it. He pushed out through the castle until he hit the daylight and the fresh air. The minute he did, his nerves began to calm.

Edward stretched out. His hand was itching to go to his sheath again and pull out his sword. Recently he'd made enough to get an iron blade, and he could really do some damage with that baby.

Edward felt a little bad that they were fighting, but he let out a sigh of relief that he was finally out of that stuffy room. They'd make up. They always did.

*

Edward filled his days with training, and occasionally helping front a bandit extermination in the hills, so he wouldn't get rusty. Sure, he'd done all these things before he and Leo fought, but now he did them more. He felt happier, not to constantly have some fancy knowledge pushed down his throat. He was a street kid; all that stuff wasn't for him.

He kept meaning to go apologize to Leo, but then he'd remember that Leo had been cold too, and pull back. He could apologize for once. It seemed like Edward was always the one apologizing. _Sorry I broke your vase, sorry I was reckless, sorry I interrupted._

Leo had been keeping back lately, busy teaching, which galled at him and made him let the spat go on for far longer than any fight of theirs ever had.

*

He was going to apologize, really. He'd even went and bought a new book for Leo. It had a couple embracing on the cover, and he could just make out the words _His_ and _Bride_ on the cover. The word between it was long, and started with a P, and ended with an E, but when he tried to add the words together, it didn't make any sense.

Just as he was about to come in, he saw that Leonardo wasn't alone.

It was a pretty girl, long dark pigtails and a blush on her face. She looked adoringly at Leonardo, though he was looking at a book and didn't notice.

"Thank you, teacher. I learned a lot," she said in a soft voice.

Then, he noticed a cute blond with curls and a heart-shaped face.

"Me, too," she said. She smiled up at him, and fluttered her eyelashes, more brazen with her flirting.

Edward knew them both vaguely. One was the younger daughter of a poorer merchant who had been on the bad side of Nevassa after refusing to go through with something Ashnard had wanted. He'd been lucky to escape with his life, though he'd lost his fortunes somewhere along the way.

The other, hmmm. Maybe she worked in a bar? He couldn't quite remember, but he knew he'd seen her before.

Edward had known that Leonardo was teaching other people, but he always thought it was little kids and stuff, not girls who were obviously trying to flirt with him. A sudden rush of anger welled up in him, and he hugged the book close to his chest and ran right out of there, and kept running until he could feel a rushing in his head and blood other than the sudden weird anger which was choking him up and making it hard to breathe.

He closed his eyes and kept running, until he hit something solid which knocked him off course.

"Whoa, there—"

Nolan caught and steadied him before he could topple over.

"You look pretty bushed. Is something the matter, or are you late?"

Edward kicked at the dust, and looked down. He still had the book, at least that hadn't gotten dirty.

"You seem to be cut up about something. I'm headed for a drink, why don't you join me? I'll be glad to listen," Nolan said.

Edward followed after Nolan, into the loud, low-lit bar.

Edward had spent a lot of time in bars over his life, given that they tended to have cheaper food than the market when they actually had gold to spare. Some of the nicer innkeepers even would let them sleep by the fireplace in the kitchens if they helped with the chores, and give them leftovers.

Funny that he hadn't drank much prior to this, however. It just hadn't appealed to him. But so many people swore by it—and swore at it—that Edward was willing to try anything to make the weird rage go away.

This particular bar was filled with working soldiers and mercenaries. The blond from earlier was cleaning the bar, and humming a little song to herself. She looked happy— _too_ happy, and it made that weird feeling in him just rise all the higher.

He grabbed the big frothy mug and began to down it too quickly. Alcohol was supposed to cure these things, and Nolan liked it, at least. Still, all it did was make him feel like he had heartburn and a little woozy.

Nolan patted him on the back. "Slow down a bit, it isn't a race. You'll make yourself sick at this rate."

"—and then, there's _two girls_ there. Getting lessons from him. They're making eyes at him, Nolan!"

"He's popular with the girls, is he?" Nolan chuckled. "I didn't see that one coming, though I should've."

"Why not? He's smart, he's great. Everyone likes him," Edward said defensively.

"Shouldn't you be happy for your friend? It's about time he got settled down," Nolan said. He lifted his mug to his lips and took a sip. "Ah, it hits the spot."

"Leonardo isn't getting married!" Edward burst out. He slammed his fist on the table. Several of the men at the bar gave him a dirty look, but he didn't care.

"So, are you jealous of him, or them?" Nolan said. He was giving Edward a knowing look.

"The girls?" He frowned. "They're nice, but not my type."

"And why isn't he getting married again?" Nolan said.

"Because he's supposed to stay with me! We're going to see Tellius together, we've always been together, since I found him on the streets. I can't imagine some girl just stealing him away and him

"I think you found your answer," Nolan said.

Edward stared into his now-empty mug. He didn't have any answers, all he knew was that he was miserable without Leo. They hadn't talked in _days_ , and he couldn't remember a time when his days weren't marked by how much time he spent with Leo.

"I gotta go. Thanks for the drink," Edward said.

"I hope you find what you're looking for," Nolan said.

Edward sure did, too. He couldn't take anymore of this stormy and moody life without Leo around.

*

The royal library was almost entirely empty when Edward came in, save for a tiny old librarian with steel gray hair put up in a bun. It was very clean and pretty, with gold fringe and heads of animals on the walls. The bookcases were so high and so full, Edward wasn't even sure Leonardo could read them all in a lifetime.

Hell, he wasn't even sure _Soren_ could read them all.

This probably was some kind of heaven to Leonardo. Edward found him in here, more often than not. Sometimes with books of history, sometimes with novels.

Edward searched the titles, until he came upon another copy the same dictionary Leo used. He hefted it up and blew the dust off the cover, then went to the nearest studying table to piece through it.

The words were difficult—even more so without Leonardo over his shoulder to correct and guide him–but he kept looking. The words blurred together, but he knew somewhere in this big dusty thing he'd find what he was looking for.

He studied like he'd never studied before, pouring through page after page, from _animal_ to _builder_. He'd always known the words, just not how they arranged themselves on the page.

It was only when he felt about ready to completely give up that he found it, nestled among the Ms, just the word he was looking for.

Edward read it over and over until he had gotten the pronunciation just right. He closed the dictionary shut and put it back in place, then raced through the rows of bookcases, right past the little old librarian.

"Don't run in the library!" She called.

"Sorry, ma'am, I gotta go!"

He kept running. Through the halls, up stairs and through passages until he came to the small room Leo used for a classroom.

Leonardo was putting away the last books of the day. His back was turned, and only when the door opened with a loud _bang_ as it hit the other wall did he turn to see him.

"I want to monopolize you!" Edward burst out.

"What?" Leonardo said.

"I went to the library to try and find a word to figure out what I feel about you, and that's it. Monopolize. I want to monopolize you," Edward said.

He stopped to catch his breath, bent over with his hands on his knees.

"...to take complete or exclusive control of, usually used in regard to merchant companies?" Leonardo said, looking at him questioningly.

Edward rose up. "I don't want to share you at all. You were _my_ friend first. I can't just sit here and watch you get married to someone else, I just can't!"

"Married to someone else?" Leonardo said. "What are you talking about?"

"Yeah, all those girls you teach—they want to make you their husband. And they're great and all, they'll make somebody a good wife, but it can't be you," Edward said.

"You came to visit me?" Leonardo said.

"Tried to, at least," Edward said. "I kind of stormed off when I saw them."

He drew a line on the floor with his boot, more than a little embarrassed. He'd been peeking like some creeper, when he didn't even have to. Sheesh, he'd bathed right in front of Leo for years on end.

Leo shook his head. "You thought that? Honestly, you... You can rest assured I have no interest in that way in them," Leonardo said.

"You don't?" Edward said. This was it, the moment he needed. It was like that point in a battle where you knew you could turn the tide and win this.

"Leo. I—" Edward rubbed awkwardly at the back of his neck. "—I can't imagine a life without you in it. These past days without you have left me so unhappy, I don't want to have to ever share you at all."

Leonardo came closer to him, until he held out his hands. Edward took them. It felt so good to be near him again, like his life had been fraying at the edges but now was getting back in line. Like he was where he belonged.

"I missed you, too," Leo said.

And then for a moment, it got awkward and he didn't know what to say, except that he remembered he had something for Leo all along. He pulled away from Leo and got out the book from the pouch at the side of his hip. It hadn't even gotten dirty in the whole trip.

"Oh, and I got you this," Edward said.

"His Passionate Bride?" Leonardo read. He looked up questioningly at Edward.

"I saw it in the market and thought you'd like it. ...I can take it back if you don't want it," Edward said.

"No...I like it. It was kind gesture. It's not the usual kind of book I read—but it's good to try new things."

The words just spilled out of him then. Screw waiting for an apologize. He'd apologize first every time if it meant he didn't have to go without Leo.

"I'm sorry I stormed off. It's just so hard for me to sit and focus, and it makes me feel so _stupid_ to not get all the words. It just really gets in my craw sometimes, you know? I can't stand it at all!"

"I was wrong to be cold to you. I know it's hard for you, and it's perfectly okay for you to not want to learn," Leonardo said. "You don't have to be a scholar, and I shouldn't force that path on you."

"I don't think I'll ever be as good as you, but....there's some interesting stuff in there. I guess I can try a little harder. I mean, I didn't hate it, even when I was annoyed, because I was spending time with you, and I can never really hate anything when I'm with you, even when I'm on latrine duty."

Leonardo smiled. The last bit of sun of the day fell on his gold hair, looking so magical that Edward found himself unable to look away.

"You're prettier than any girl I ever saw, and I've seen some really pretty girls," Edward said suddenly. It just came out of him before he even realized what he was saying.

For a second, they just stood in the wake of the awkwardness, and it was so strange to be awkward around Leo, because Leo was the one person in the world he was never ever awkward around. They could talk for ages and ages and never get tired of it, and even when they fought, they always came back to each other.

Leo leaned up and put his lips on Edward's. it was stunning, a thrill running through him and so right. He wanted it to last a long time, to put his fingers through Leo's golden hair, but it ended too quickly, both of them a little flush faced and looking away.

"I liked that," Edward said.

"Me too," Leonardo said.

And then Leo reached out for him so they could just hold hand to hand, and even if it was different, it wasn't that awkward, not really at all.


End file.
